Multiple Injured as Turbulence Hits Delta Flight into Sydney

A number of individuals have been injured after a Delta flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Local paramedics reported they assessed five patients, and took three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and headaches. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the newest example of planes experiencing severe turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that global warming is a key driver.

On board were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics reported they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and more severe.

In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a harrowing brief five-second period of extreme instability. A traveler lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through disturbed air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming alters weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.